Water levels remains low – Rand Water

FILE PICTURE: Residents of Gerdview on the East Rand queue up to collect water from a water tank, 24 September 2014, after not having water in the area since Saturday. Rand Water says it's unclear when water will be fully restored to parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria following shortages across the province. Picture: Michel Bega

Water levels remain low in certain parts of Johannesburg, Rand Water said on Monday.

These included Waterval, where water levels were at 20 percent, and Meredale, where water levels stood at 15 percent, spokesman Justice Mohale said.

Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane would provide more information on the water shortages during a briefing in Johannesburg on Monday afternoon.

“Decisions will be taken after the minister speaks to the media,” Mohale said.

Gauteng has been hit by water shortages – apparently due to the theft of electrical cables needed for reservoirs to pump water.

The shortage has affected parts of Ekurhuleni, the West Rand, Johannesburg and Tshwane.

Water levels were at 40 percent on Saturday but dropped on Sunday morning.

“There was a serious drop. Contributing factors could be that people stored water in buckets thinking water would not come back again,” Mohale said on Sunday.

“We give ourselves two weeks to get sufficient water supply – that’s our target and that can only happen if there are no interruptions like cable theft or power failures to pump water. We have to normalise water.”

Mohale said that throughout the week water levels in reservoirs had been fluctuating, which was normal.

Water restoration in the province would be gradual and people were urged to use water sparingly.

“When water is restored it is gradual; we will not restore water in all areas at the same time,” Mohale said on Sunday.

“We know we do have people who do not have water. Let’s try conserve a bit because we do have people who don’t use water discreetly… Please just wait a bit until we normalise the situation.”

Earlier on Sunday, Ekurhuleni municipality said the water supply was stabilising after Bedfordview and Primrose started receiving water after a period of shortages.

Spokesman Themba Gadebe said the two areas were the last of 10 to stabilise after the municipality and Rand Water restored water to affected areas.